


rivalry from beyond the grave

by Felikid



Category: Subarashiki Kono Sekai | The World Ends With You
Genre: Adressing the fact that dead people are participating in public tournaments, Canon Compliant, Gen, Oneshot, POV Outsider, Shooter's characterization is inspired by all the episodes of Beyblade Burst i watched once, bro you KNOW there's off-screen character death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:43:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26991604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Felikid/pseuds/Felikid
Summary: Dan Shuto - please call him Shooter, it's way cooler - wants to find out the tragic backstory of his newest rival, Neku Sakuraba.He finds something very unexpected.(Spiritual sequel toGhosts in the Wind)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 43





	rivalry from beyond the grave

**Author's Note:**

> what is UP people. Have a sequel to my first ever fic that takes the same concept but with Shooter instead of Eri, and is also thrice as long with _many_ references to shounen tropes, because i used to watch beyblade burst too much. It ran right before Pokemon on saturday, so.
> 
> this has been in my drafts for. too long.

Shooter knew he was the protagonist, and a protagonist needed a sidekick. That sidekick was Yammer.

Yammer, of course, knew all about Tin Pin, but played worse than Shooter because no one played better than Shooter. Really, modded pins? How were you you supposed to get better at the game by relying on gimmicks?

Someone needed to come along and teach Yammer the importance of _real_ Tin Pin.

This someone came in the form of Neku Sakuraba.

Every main character needed a good rival. Bright orange spiky hair lifted him right out of the crowd, he wore headphones wherever he went, and had a no good attitude to boot!

By all means, Neku was the _perfect_ rival for the role.

 _Obviously,_ Yammer lost the match. He needed the lesson, after all. It’s only logical Neku would beat him. A sudden underdog, risisng up! Never before seen skill! Secret Technique, Ninja-

okay, Neku didn’t do that. He should’ve though. It would’ve been epic.

As Neku moved up the bracket and Yammer contemplated his Tin Pin tactics, Shooter wiped the floor with everyone. Even with Neku, which was _also_ obvious. The underdog _had_ to lose in the semi-finals to return stronger, armed with new skills and a personal vendetta against the protagonist that beat him-

(When later asked how he felt about his debilitating loss, Neku said, “I don’t care as long as the mission got done.”)

Shooter couldn’t wait to meet Neku again! His smarmy friend excluded. The guy’s attitude made a good match for Neku’s no-nonsense, but Shooter preferred an intact Pin. Like, seriously! This tournament arc was supposed to show off the results of his training, granting Shooter the coolest win ever! Yammer’s chararcter arc might’ve started but Shooter’s was in full swing already!

His character development being that he became more awesome, of course. The protagonist always became more awesome.

No matter, next time he saw Neku, he’d win! Neku wouldn’t get rid of the underdog tag just yet! Even if Neku would eventually be defeated by Yammer, once he learned not to rely on mods playing the game for him. Which wouldn’t make Shooter’s wins less awesome!

Except Neku defied the plot and beat them both. Maybe another training arc was in order.

Now, _now,_ Neku rose to _Shooter’s_ rival! Shooter would reclaim his glory, even if it’s the last thing he did!

Argh, Neku was so _mysterious_ , though. How’d he get so far in his first tournament? Who was the other guy with him? Why did he keep staring at his hand? What how why where when-

When would a match come in which Neku revealed his dramatic past? Strenghten his resolve but lose to Shooter nonetheless because Shooter’s _that_ cool?

Or maybe Shooter could take matters into his own hands, a classic one-off episode of sleuthing!

So, after Neku crushed him for the third time that week, Shooter decided to follow him.

Neku walked out the door, grey-haired guy right behind, and Shooter in turn right behind that one. He followed on tiptoes and covered his face with a newspaper, he had to be invisible!

The grey haired guy, John, Jones, Joshua! Joshua laughed, even though Neku didn’t say anything. Must’ve remembered a joke or something.

Anyway, right out the door they went. Shooter hurried behind them, and as the time came to reveal where Neku went after, Shooter saw… nothing.

By all means, Neku should be standing outside, but there was _nothing._ Empty air, no orange in sight.

* * *

If he couldn’t get anything on Neku, how about finding out stuff about Joshua? Whenever Neku played Tin Pin, Joshua stood in the background, watching. He had to be interested in Tin Pin, so why did he never play? And he gave Neku tips all the time, too.

Could it be?? Joshua used to be _such_ an intense Tin Pin Player he injured his wrists beyond repair, could no longer slam, imparted all his knowledge on Neku and now let his dream live on through him??

Beneath the flashing billboards inside Stride, the ultimate Tin Pin hotspot for all true Slammurais, Joshua once again stood off to the side, speaking into his phone.

“Yes, everything is in order-” Shooter smacked him on the shoulder and Joshua spun around. “Oh, hey kid, want something from little old me?”

Little? Joshua was taller than Shooter! The old part could stick around though. Joshua might as well be ancient to a fifth grader.

“Are you Neku’s mentor?” Shooter asked with stars in his eyes. He was of the self-trained variety, and had never witnessed a true mentor before.

“You could say that,” Joshua replied with a smirk. “I’ve taught him everything he knows about the Game.” He said the word _Game_ with such weight, it could only mean one thing! Tin Pin Slammer!

But wait. Neku used to be a total noob, even with guidance. “But Neku sucked!”

“He doesn’t anymore, does he? Just goes to show how far a little _imagination_ can bring you.”

“Like when he used the hammer to go all wrrrr!” Shooter made an elaborate spinning gesture in a pantomime of the _radical_ move Neku pulled yesterday, but Joshua just laughed.

“Sure.”

The background turned into a pink gradient adorned with countless sparkles. “Can you play?? Please??”

“I’ll have to decline,” and the gradient shattered in a shower of glass, “I’m not really a Player, you see.”

“Why not??” It’s a betrayal to life’s truest purpose! Until Shooter became the very best like no one ever was and he went on to be the best at something else instead.

“Just tired of it, I suppose. Now, shoo, I have important calls to make.” True to his word, Joshua shooed Shooter of with a dismissive wave, and Shooter once again came back empty handed.

* * *

Shooter was at home, at the dinner table, and very frustrated. Nothing! Zilch! Nada! Niet! Other synonyms that underline his immense frustration!

While he pouted at the innocent wood of the table, his mother set a steaming plate of unspecified food in front of him. Her hair was, notably, short and not in a side ponytail.

“Be careful going out, alright?” she said and ran a hand through his hair, loosening his headband in the process. “There have been so many accidents lately.”

“I only go to Stride anyway! And Yammer’s with me.” Always so _worried,_ geez. Now he had to fix his headband again, too.

“Just don’t go to Udagawa! The news say it’s dangerous there.”

Huh? Now he sort of wanted to go there. His mother flitted off somewhere else, probably to watch the news and gather _even more_ things to worry about. Not like Shooter particularly cared what happened in Udagawa.

Except. Except, between bites of steaming food, Shooter saw a weekly newspaper on the table. Maybe, maybe, his mother had a right to be concerned.

 _Teen shot in Udagawa, culprit still unknown_ it read. Below the headline, a picture of a chalk outline below what he recognized as the CAT mural. He swallowed.

He put down his chopsticks, and took the newspaper. He began to read.

_On Monday of last week, a shoot-out in the Udagawa back streets claimed the life of a local teen, Neku Sakuraba (15). According to witness testimony, Sakuraba went to visit a mural by prolific graffiti artist CAT, when he was caught in the fatal incident. Sakuraba was described as "reclusive" by family, and had no prior involvement with gangs of any sort.  
_

_Police are still on the hunt for the shooters in question. There are currently no known suspects, but…._

Oh. A ghost disappearing into thin air wasn’t that strange at all!

**Author's Note:**

> this has SUCH a different tone than Ghosts in the Wind, CAN you believe it's been two years since i started writing fic. And also two years since i wrote something for twewy. And two years since i first played twewy??? it's been. two years since i beat twewy for the first time. I'm having a crisis.
> 
> also. a shoot-out right in tokyo would be a Big Deal i think, because japan has extremely tight gun control, so. Neku's murder probably landed in the newspaper. 
> 
> josh's blatant foreshadowing was so fun to do


End file.
